


the last of the real ones

by versti_fantur



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25790599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/versti_fantur/pseuds/versti_fantur
Summary: The coffee burnt his lips and tongue, but the warmth was welcome as he exited back out into the street. In the daylight, the writing on the side was clearer.Hucks.//Kylo works in a coffee shop and deliberately misspells Hux’s name. Its a coffee shop au its going to be fluffy
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 11
Kudos: 101





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this broke me out of my week long-ish writing slump so blame fall out boy and my caffeine addiction

The crisp December air bit into Hux’s cheeks as he walked briskly along the street, and he pulled his scarf tighter around his neck to keep off the wind. The bag hanging from his shoulder bumped against his hip with every step, causing it to ache dully, but he ignored it, too cold to be irritated. As he jogged across the road, barely avoiding a speeding van, a glowing red sign stood out against the endless grey concrete of the surrounding buildings.

_First Order Coffee_ it read, beneath a spikey circle shape, and Hux scoffed—what a ridiculous name—but the prospect of a hot cup of coffee was rather too enticing to resist. He checked his watch—a neat, silver piece, expensive, but not gaudy—and sighed; he had a few minutes to spare before he needed to be at work, and so he stepped inside, the warm air stinging his face as he joined the queue.

The café was a fairly odd in Hux’s opinion; the walls a shade of deep scarlet, and the dark grey furniture made the space rather dark, if not for the large windows stretching across the entire front of the shop letting in the light, but he paid it little notice, and soon he was at the counter.

“Hey! What can I get you?” The server asked, and Hux started, having been momentarily lost in thought. “Sir?” The man asked, smirking almost playfully, and Hux bristled.

“One medium black coffee, please.”

“Sure,” the man— _Kylo Ren_ his nametag read—said as he took an empty cup, “Who for?”

“Hux.”

“English, huh?” Kylo asked as he wrote, the sharpie scratching uncomfortably against the cardboard. Hux nodded. “What are you doing over here?”

“Business.” Hux snapped, checking his watch, and Kylo must have picked up on his impatience and disinterest, as he didn’t try to make any more small talk, merely handing over the piping hot cup and taking Hux’s money with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Have a good day sir.”

Hux made a noncommittal noise as he turned to leave, pushing thoughts of the man’s broad shoulders and messy ponytail out of his mind as he took a sip. The coffee burnt his lips and tongue, but the warmth was welcome as he exited back out into the street. In the daylight, the writing on the side was clearer.

_Hucks_.

Hux scowled, covering the misspelling with his thumb. He didn’t know why it irritated him so much, but he forced himself to drink the too-hot coffee as quickly as possible, just so he could crush it and throw it into the nearest trashcan as he hurried the rest of the way to the office building.

~~~

He wasn’t sure why he stopped in First Order Coffee the next day. He’d woken up early enough to make a drink at home before he left, but as he passed the shopfront, he was compelled to enter. The queue was longer, and a girl with strange pigtails stood beside Kylo at the counter. Hux half hoped he’d end up served by her instead, but he’d never been very lucky in such matters.

“Glad to see you again!” Kylo grinned as Hux approached him. “Medium black coffee, right?”

Hux nodded, smiling politely as he handed over a five dollar bill, mildly surprised Kylo remembered him. “It’s Hux. With an ‘x’,” he clarified as Kylo wrote his name onto a cup with a flourish. (Hux couldn’t help but notice the way his tongue peeked out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated).

He missed the mischievous glint in Kylo’s eye as he turned around to pour the coffee, and passing him the full cup. “Enjoy!” he said with a wink, which made something flutter deep inside Hux’s chest, suddenly acutely aware of Kylo watching him.

“Thank you,” he replied quickly, eyes glancing over the name on his drink. The fluttery feeling was soon quashed with indignation as he frowned. “That’s clearly not how you spell it,” he huffed, but Kylo had already greeted a new customer, shooting Hux an innocent smile. Rolling his eyes, he walked away, pushing the door open into the street and glaring at the offending cup of coffee with disdain.

_Xucks_ stared back up at him. God, Kylo Ren was irritating.

~~~

The following day, Hux was late, and had to forgo his morning coffee, settling for a cup of the lukewarm excuse for a drink the office building offered. He grimaced as he took a sip, the cheap instant coffee tasting bitter and burnt as he switched on his laptop. As the screen flickered into life, his mind flickered back to the café. Despite the deliberate playing with his name, he had almost enjoyed the daily interactions with Kylo, and as such he was regretful he wasn’t able to visit today.

A knock on his office door drew him from his thoughts, and he downed the rest of his vile coffee with a grimace. “Come in!”

~~~

Saturday morning (technically so, but noon was rapidly approaching) and Hux found himself in the city centre with nothing to do. Phasma had cancelled on their lunch plans at the last minute, something about her roommate/not-quite-girlfriend’s dog being ill. Which wouldn’t have been a problem, had she told him _before_ he’d spent half an hour in a taxi. Running a hand through his hair to push it out of his eyes, he let himself wander through the streets—the frigid air thankfully enough to keep the shoppers and tourists to a minimum.

It only half annoyed him that when he finally slowed to a halt it was outside First Order Coffee. If Hux were a spiritual man, he might have called it a sign, but as it was, he brushed it off as a mere coincidence. It didn’t stop him from going inside and draping his coat and bag over an empty booth though.

He scanned the menu on the wall behind the counter as he waited to be served, only occasionally glancing around to see if Kylo was working. He didn’t let himself be disappointed when he couldn’t find him, what were the chances of him working this shift anyway? The same girl with the pigtails took his order, and he pointed out his table. ”We’ll bring everything over in a minute,” she said cheerily, and Hux thanked her before returning to his seat, taking out his phone to delete some emails whilst he waited.

“You ordered the black coffee and the almond croissant, right?” A familiar deep voice sounded from behind him a few minutes later, and Hux turned sharply, startled.

“Oh, yes, thank you Kylo,” he said quickly as Kylo set the tray down on the table, careful not to spill Hux’s drink. Kylo looked at him searchingly, frowning curiously.

“You remembered my name?”

Hux mentally cursed himself, “No, your nametag-” he gestured to where Kylo’s nametag _had_ been, the previous times they’d met, but was met with his unfortunate lack of an apron, and hence no nametag to be found. Kylo laughed as Hux flushed red, caught in his lie, the blush painfully obvious against his pale skin.

“I’m on my break,” he explained, sliding into the seat opposite Hux without asking, or letting Hux protest. “Rey told me you were here, so I wanted to give you this,” he took a piece of paper from his pocket and slid it across the table, accidentally (or maybe not so accidentally) brushing Hux’s hand with his own as he took it. “Enjoy your croissant,” he said before Hux could open the note, standing up and disappearing back behind the counter.

_202-555-0144_  
If you want to go out some time, call me ;)  
Kylo Ren 

The glow returned to Hux’s cheeks, but was now accompanied by the fluttering sensation again. He shot a glance back towards the counter, meeting Kylo’s eyes briefly before he ducked back inside the kitchen, and Hux laughed softly to himself. Maybe Kylo Ren wouldn’t be so insufferable after all. Maybe this might even be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh the heat ruined my motivation so this is ~late~ but eh here ya go! enjoy <3

Hux wasn’t one for overthinking; he usually put total faith in his decisions, which he always insisted to be founded on pure logic. Unfortunately there wasn’t any logic in knowing when to text Kylo. His phone lay on the coffee table in front of him, grey and unobtrusive, and beside it the note Kylo had written, the loopy cursive handwriting slanting down the paper; neat, but clearly written in a hurry.

He’d left the coffee shop several hours ago, giving a swift glance around for Kylo, but he’d presumably still been hiding in the back since he hadn’t been able to see him. The idea made Hux smile to himself as he left, and the blush lingering on his cheeks meant that the chill wind didn’t bother him as much as usual as he stepped outside.

He’d wandered around the city for a while. It wasn’t like he had anywhere in particular to be, but he knew as soon as he got home he wouldn’t be able to resist texting him, and even Hux, with his limited dating experience, knew that texting him before he even finished his shift would be… more than a little over eager.

After a few minutes of walking with no end goal, he happened upon a small tree-ringed field that apparently passed for a park in the city. He circled it a couple of times, the dewy grass staining his boots and making the ends of his trousers slightly damp, nearly freezing in the frosty air. Once he could stand the cold no longer, he turned back towards the city centre, stopping in a corner shop to buy some treats for Millicent before hailing another taxi to take him back to his apartment.

~~~

In the end, he switched his phone off and pushed it beneath a couch cushion, which Millicent promptly sat on. He’d decided to sleep on the idea, just so he wouldn’t do anything stupid or impulsive. And since he prided himself on his ability to be patient, he could certainly wait until tomorrow before texting him. But as it turned out, it wasn’t as easy as he’d anticipated.

He’d taken out his laptop to do some work, but realised he’d left some necessary documents back at the office, so he switched to a book on military history he’d been slowly making his way through, but even the Battle of Britain failed to hold his attention for long.

A cup of tea would help, he decided as he slid a bookmark back between the pages, leaving it on the coffee table as he made his way to the tiny kitchen his apartment possessed. Running the kettle under the faucet and switching it on, he leant against the counter, listening to the slow bubbling water turn to steam as it boiled. From somewhere behind him, Millicent meowed loudly.

“Yes?” He asked as she jumped down and pattered across the floor, meowing again. His fingers itched to text Kylo.

“I know I’m being ridiculous, you don’t need to laugh at me.” He clinked the teaspoon against the side of the mug as he stirred, Millicent rubbing up against his leg and leaving orange cat hair all over his trousers. “Did you want a treat?”

She purred loudly, which he took as a yes, and he took a couple from the jar on the counter as he took his cup of tea back to the couch, Millicent trotting at his heels expectantly. Sitting down, she head-butted his hand until he held them out towards her. Once she took them, he picked up his book again, the long paragraphs endless and dreary, and he sighed, getting lost in the pages of strategy and dogfights.

Not long after, though, an email chimed from his laptop—some emergency crisis at the office—and Hux sighed, draining his cup of tea and grabbing his things, whilst ordering an Uber on his phone to take him to work. Kylo would have to wait even longer.

~~~

He arrived back home shortly before 11pm, unlocking the door as tiredness threatened to overwhelm him. During the uber ride back to his apartment, he’d typed Kylo’s number into his phone twice, double checking it was correct, and now, as he tossed his bag onto the couch, he opened up messages. For a moment, his hands hovered over the keyboard, hesitating whilst he thought of what to type.

“ _Hello, this is Hux. You have no excuse for misspellings now._ ”

He clicked send before he could agonise over the stiffly formal tone, (flirting… wasn’t his strong suit) and headed to his bedroom, plugging the charger into his phone, and turned the notification volume off. The bed sank as he sat down, and he stifled a yawn as Millicent watched him from the doorway. He’d check for texts in the morning.

~~~

He was only a little ashamed that the first thing he did when he woke up was check his phone. 4am was early, even though he usually woke before sunrise, but he never slept particularly well, especially when he had something (or someone) on his mind. He half expected Kylo to not have responded yet, but a message lit up the screen as soon as he switched on his phone.

**3:18 - Kylo Ren:** _who says I need an excuse? :P_

Rolling his eyes at the fact Kylo had texted him at 3 in the morning, he dragged himself out of bed, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he re-read the message. He nibbled his lip as he typed out a reply, stroking Millicent as she curled up on the counter beside him.

~~~

“Hey!” Kylo grinned as Hux pushed open the café door, looking up from the table he was clearing and wiping his hands on his apron. They’d texted all through Sunday, and now Hux knew Kylo’s favourite bands, and that he worked morning shifts every day except Tuesdays. He also knew Kylo used a ridiculous amount of emojis, and never seemed to care about grammar or punctuation. Every time he deliberately used too many exclamation marks, Hux had bristled, complaining that Kylo was an _adult_ and he should type like one. Kylo had responded with an even more horrifically punctuated “no”.

But although their text conversation had added a sense of familiarity, Hux couldn’t forget they were still virtually strangers. Kylo’s tone, however, held no reservations, was merely a friendly, open greeting. Hux kinda liked that.

“Good morning,” His eyes followed Kylo’s movement—he was wearing a t-shirt today, revealing his (extremely well) toned arms, and _how the hell hadn’t he noticed them before??_ But he forced himself to tear his gaze away, regaining his composure and half smiling back.

“You want your usual? C’mon I’ll get it for you.”

“You really don’t have to-” Hux protested, but Kylo ignored him.

“It’s cool, employee discount remember?” Kylo winked as he turned around, indicating Hux should follow him up to the counter. There wasn’t a queue, but Hux got the feeling Kylo would have served him first anyway. He didn’t quite know what to make of that. “I know we didn’t discuss anything, but my shift finishes soon, so if you wanted to we could-” He broke off as Hux shook his head apologetically.

“I’ve got to be at work in-” he checked his watch, “-15 minutes, or I would.” Kylo’s face fell for a split second, but as quickly as it was gone, his casually amiable smile returned. “I finish at 5pm tomorrow, though, if you’re free.” He searched Kylo’s face, meeting his eyes for a moment, but he looked away, not wanting to be accused of staring.

“Sure! I know a place, I can text you the address, and meet you there at 6?”

“Okay,” Kylo’s hand brushed his as he passed him the hot cup of coffee, sending little shocks of electricity through his arm. “It’s a date.” He paused at the counter for longer than was strictly necessary, neither of them saying anything, but the silence was comfortable, and he would probably have waited longer, had an irritated cough not sounded from behind him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kylo said, flicking a stray hair out of his eyes and smiling warmly.

“Tomorrow.” Hux repeated, as his own lips mirrored Kylo’s.

The customer cleared his throat again, and Hux glared at him, sneering as he passed by and walked out of the shop. But he could feel Kylo’s gaze on the back of his neck, and he couldn’t help the pleasant blush on his cheeks as he sipped the coffee.

The coffee with a correctly spelt _Hux_ on the side, with two dots turning the “u” into a smiley face. Hux couldn’t even bring himself to hate it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments/kudos are wonderful and ily all ^-^

**Author's Note:**

> hope yall enjoyed <3 comments/kudos mean the world ^-^


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